Rejected New Orleans Pedicab Applicant Appeals

"Pedicabs" began operating in New Orleans' French Quarter last week but that doesn't mean a long-standing controversy over the people-powered transportation is over.

A business owner who applied for permission to operate some of the vehicles is appealing to the New Orleans City Council, saying the lottery process used to award permits was flawed.

The rejected applicant says in his appeal letter to the council that some permit winners used multiple applications and "proxy" applicants to increase their chances of getting a permit.

The council first approved the concept of using the pedal-powered rickshaws in September 2010. But legislative and bureaucratic complications followed, delaying the awarding of permits for months. Meanwhile, French Quarter buggy drivers and taxi owners complained about the possibility of new competition.